The Egyptian Star
by Izzu
Summary: A short tale regarding Atemu's life as a very naughty prince.
1. Royalties up to mischief! Runaway!

az: Don't ask me.... I've been watching Yugi flashing his toothy grin while trying to fool the Big5 into attacking him. And suddenly.. I got an idea for a fic as I've been making a comic relief to my young sis.... and so came this hilarity....

Revamped: I've set Atemu and Mana as 10-year old kids and Seto, 11 while Mahado was 15 years old and was currently learning magic at the palace. I dunno the real relation btw Mahado and Mana. Let's assume they were brothers and sisters... kay? Haii... to be called stupid by my own sis.... are the world on an end?!

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Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh manga nor did I own anime spare the DVD that I so much treasure until the end of time. Heavens will fall while Osiris and Ra became my pets if I ever owned Yugioh. Characters and original excerpts from the fic are copyrights of Kazuki Takahashi.

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The Egyptian Star

Royalties up to mischief!!! Runaway!!

Written by Azzie/Az Alienna Azuani

Prince Atemu sighed in boredom as Shimon continued to talk endlessly about this certain business between the royal families and the ruling priest among the members of the court. The young prince yawned unashamedly, as he played with his food.

'Atemu-child... don't play with your food..', came a loving voice scolding him softly, beside. Atemu pouted in a very cute way as he looked up towards his queen mother guiltily. '_Haha-ue..._ I'm full and Shimon's speech was boring... I wanna sleep...', whined the young prince as the elderly woman chuckled in delight at her only child's antiques. The queen hugged the young prince affectionately as she called out for Shimon.

'Shimon, the prince was tired. Please escort him to his chambers....', said the queen as the pharaoh gave her and his young son a smile. Shimon, who was at the time was telling the pharaoh about the events occurring earlier that day, just shrugged and lead the young prince out of the dining hall. (Drats!! I'm making this up. How on earth I'm gonna know where the pharaoh eats!) Atemu smiled happily as Shimon led him towards his sleeping chamber...

'Shimon...! Why did you always talk so much with _chichi-ue?_ It's so boring...', said Atemu as he pouted at him. The elderly advisor gave him a knowing look. 'It's my duty, my prince... But hey, the queen said that you're tired! You didn't look as tired or sleepy as she said... Are you up to something?' Atemu gave Shimon an innocent look. 'Wha...? Me? No... nothing. I was tired. Your speech was _really _boring...', said Atem again, _yawning_ as they arrived to his sleeping chamber. 'Alright... I believed you. But don't you go running off outside again like last time...!!', said Shimon sternly as he ushered him inside.

Prince Atemu gave Shimon a dignified look. 'What, me...? No, I wouldn't do that... so don't lock the door!!! Please... what if I got to go to the loo?', begged the prince. The advisor gave the look of disbelief at the young prince.

'Good night, my prince...', drawled the old man as Shimon bowed and closed the ten feet golden door before locking it. The prince, who had promised Mana to accompany her for her detention that night at the library (coz' Mana had mistakenly dispose a 1000-year-old invisible ink scroll which she think was a piece of plain paper while she was cleaning Mahado's room) was determined not to break his promises with his friend.

The prince went to the armoire and pulled a well hidden common clothes and a robe from the heap of blankets and colorful clothes. Atem quickly changed from his royal robes into a commoner's outfit. He grinned in mischief as he blew out the candles. Atemu slowly open the door by magic and muttered a simple incantation to make the guard outside the door asleep for four hours. He crept outside, was feeling satisfied that the spell worked after he nudging a guard with his finger and the guard didn't move but snoring deeply.

There was a hidden trap door that leads to the library near the place where he stood. The young prince grinned in delight as he magically lock the door to his chambers again before sneaking off to the library...

At the library...

Young Mana sighed in exasperation as she attempted to place a thick spell book on the top of a high shelf. The stool that she used to stand on, shook as she strived to push the book in. The girl slipped over the effort as she fell on the floor. The book that she was trying to place on the shelf started to loose its balance and started to fall on her, along with some other old books. Mana cried as she was about to be bombarded with a bunch of old books. But seconds later, she stopped shouting as she realized that the books didn't fall over her.

Mana looked over her head in surprise to find the books fully suspended over her as the hovering objects flew to their respective shelves and stayed their neatly. The girl gasped in surprise as she heard a hearty chuckle from her back and turned around. Mana smiled in relief as she saw her visitor and straightened up to greet him.

Atemu smiled at her in return as he surveyed the library and the tower of books on the floor. 'So this was what Mahado asked you to do for your punishment?', said the young prince as the girl sighed in response. 'Hai... it's boring! Hey Mana!! Let's sneak outside to play!!', cried Atemu as he pulled Mana's hand to make her follow him.

Mana stopped him. '_Ojii-sama,_ I can't!! Mahado told me that I must put back all the books on their respective shelves before I can get out...', said Mana as Atemu shook his head at her before walking up towards the stacks of books. Atem held his hand together as he chanted a few spells. And like magic, the books glowed and hovered towards the shelves.

Minutes later, the floor was bare and the books were neatly stacked on their shelves as if the place hadn't been messy before. Mana gasped in awe as Atem gave her a smirk. 'Let's go!!', chirped Atem as he dragged Mana out of the library...

'_Ojii-sama_!! That was neat!! Can you teach me that trick?', gasped Mana as they scampered along the corridors and out of plain sight. 'Yup... as long as you don't tell people about this.', said Atemu as he added. 'And called me Atemu. I don't want my identity known while we're outside at the city...', whispered Atemu as they tried to sneak past a sleeping guard.

And as they almost thought that the coast was clear, another voice stopped them on their tracks. 'Oi!! Where are you going, Mana?', cried Seto as both of them turned around towards him. Seto was about to give Mana a stern scolding, but he noticed Atemu in his commoner's guise. He gasped. 'Ojii-sama... what are you doing? Are you going to sneak out again?', hissed Seto, partly in surprise and worry. Atemu grinned mischievously at him as he nodded. 'Yup!! Want to join me?', snorted the prince as Mana gave him a scared look.

Seto frowned at him. 'Prince Atemu, are you gonna land me into trouble again?! Last time, Shimon and Akunadin had gave me a nasty lecture about not to put you in danger!!! It's horrible!!! I don't wanna get it again! Next time they said they gonna spank me if I let you out again...'

Atemu pouted at him. 'Aah... Seto!! It'll be fun... Don't tell me that you don't want to play cards again with me and those other kids...', jested the young prince as he waved his deck in front of him. Seto whistled to himself suddenly as he took out his own deck from his sleeves. 'Ookay... I get the bait. But just make sure we don't get caught! We'll be in great trouble if we did...', hissed Seto back as he joined them on their little 'mission'. Atemu chuckled in delight as he hugged his cousin. 'Seto, you're the best!!', cried Atemu as the three scampered towards the palace grounds.

Unfortunately for the three, Mahado chose the time to emerge in front of them. The 15-year-old placed his hands at his hips as he glared at the trio. 'Mana, what are you doing here? Didn't I tell you to tidy up the library? Or did these two kids helped you out on that?', scolded Mahado as he glared at the young prince and Seto. Mana bowed guiltily at her older brother as Atemu stood protectively in front of her. 'Don't be mad at Mana. I was the one asking her to accompany me. Seto was not at fault too...', he said bravely as he looked up toward the elder mage apprentice.

Mahado looked at the child prince with mixed feelings. 'My prince... why did you do this? The pharaoh and your queen mother would not be pleased...', said the older boy. Prince Atemu pouted at him angrily. 'I'm still a kid!! I wanna go out and play too! It's no fun here... having to just study and hear Shimon's boring talk... I need to have fun too...', said the prince as he was in a verge of crying. Mahado's features softened as he knelt in front of the prince. He sighed. 'I would never win over you... Alright, I let you guys go out. But I'll be watching over you three... It's dangerous out there! What if there's thugs out there capturing you? You're the crown prince!!', said Mahado again as Atemu nodded and wiped the tears from his face.

Seto grinned at his cousin (well, he doesn't know it yet... but both of them had been very close, that it doesn't matter... -) as he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. 'Don't you worry about this guy. He's just tensed out coz' Shimon made him study ten books over these past few days...', explained the boy as Atemu kicked his foot. Mahado smiled as he escorted the three kids out of the palace gates. And what would made the scene livelier than the arrival of the said advisor Shimon!!

'Hey, you four!! What are you guys doing?!', cried Shimon as Atemu cried in surprise. 'Oh-uh... the big guy came!! Let's run for it...', cried Mahado as he carried the prince in his arms and ran away with his younger sister and young Seto. Atemu laughed in glee all the way as he watched his guardian shouted and huffed as they left him far behind...

[TBC] Yeah.... I've decided...

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az:....I got help from my other sis on the earlier part of this chappie... hohoho... mischief time!! Okay... let's see if anyone liked this spoof. I'll continue this if I got a lot of reviews. I did this anyway since I had a block on my more serious Yugioh fic... Enjoy!!!

ka:Wah...it's really cool!! Do your best stupid sis!!


	2. The Prince and the Gravekeeper's lone su...

az: I've set Bakura by the name Akeifa now... it sounded more Egyptian-like than the former... and I made Bakura/Akeifa a year older than Atemu, same as Seto... so the plot could fit...

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Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh manga nor did I own anime spare the DVD that I so much treasure until the end of time. Titanic wouldn't have sunk if I ever owned Yugioh. (lol..) Characters and original excerpts from the fic are copyrights of Kazuki Takahashi.

WARNING: unh... extreme case of fluffiness?

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The Egyptian Star

The Prince and the Gravekeeper's lone survivor

Written by Azzie/Az -- Alienna Azuani

Atemu glanced over his surroundings as the colorful lights interest him very deeply...

--

Young Akeifa stayed hidden between the boxes as he saw from the distance a young child younger than his age, who looked mostly like the crown prince. And having heard the rumors about the prince's wild hobby... he knew that he guessed right. That kid was the crown prince all right... Prince Atemu!! Akeifa clenched his teeth as the images of his village being torn apart replayed in his mind. And now... the chance of revenge was up...

The _great_ Pharaoh shall have the taste of losing the ones whom He loved the most... like I did. This time... _those royal bastards _will pay!!

'Oh yes... yes... I saw them... it's been a wild time at the palace before...', came some whisperings from the shadows. Looking swiftly towards the direction of the suspicious voices, Akeifa hastily leave as he felt no reason to stay put. He must get to the prince!!

...

An hour passed, and it seemed that he'd lost them. Akeifa cursed himself as he tried to look around. Without warning, he fell over some hole on the ground and crashed face-first on the wooden crates. He cursed again as he looked up to find a hand hovering towards him.

'Need help---?!', said the person aloud as Akeifa squinted his eyes towards him...

--

'Like I said, my prince... the marketplace was a very vast place. You should always—', Mahado looked towards his side to find that a missing spot that was supposed to be the said prince empty, leaving only a blank spot between him and young Seto. Mahado gasped in surprise. 'Seto… where was the prince?!', he exclaimed in panic. Seto and Mana, who had walked beside him, blinked in confusion as Seto gave a cry over the sudden realization...

--

Atemu grinned as Akeifa stared at him in surprise. 'Hehe… I thought I won't find any kids my age to play with… and I found you!! Funny though, to find you in a hole like that…', said the prince, giggling like silly. Akeifa hung his mouth as he slowly tried to register the fact that he was talking to the very same prince that he WAS planning to hurt. He laughed a little though it was kind of awkward, and sat beside the prince.

'Anyway… what's your name?!', asked Akeifa, even though he already knew it...

Oblivious over Akeifa's real intentions, the young prince carelessly let out his name. 'I'm Ate-- oops!! Mahado told me I shouldn't--', gasped Atemu as he looked at Akeifa. 'Can you keep a secret--? My friend told me to not tell anybody... and oh!! I've lost track of them!! How can I go back!! Everyone must be worried... and Shimon would certainly punish them--', cried Atemu again as Akeifa hastily tried to calm the young prince.

'It's okay, prince-sama!! I'll help you find them...', said the white-haired Egyptian boy as Atemu looked at him wide-eyed. 'You know... who I am?! Really---?', gasped the young prince almost too innocently towards Akeifa, who was taken aback at the prince's reaction. He nodded and Atemu instantly gave him a grateful smile as the boy embraced Akeifa...

Confusion came over young Akeifa as he registered the prince's actions. Still crying, Atemu let himself sit on a stone boulder nearby. '--thanks!! Sorry since...sob... Mahado et. all are the only friends I had at the palace... So--so... if they were banished from the palace... I...I--'

Any thoughts of revenge quickly evaporated from his mind as Akeifa took Atemu's hand onto his own. _Gee... if I'd known better, he's just like an ordinary kid like me..._, he thought in his mind. Absentmindedly, he lead the prince along the alleyway...

--

'A little lost... are you, boys?!'

Akeifa blinked in surprise as he wondered why the voice sounded so familiar...

The two boys turned around as they were confronted by a strange man. The man looked at the prince with concern. 'Were you crying just now--? Here, have some milk... it should calm you...', said the man as he offered the young prince a cup of milk. It was then that Akeifa noticed that the man was a common peddler. He never noticed before that there was a stall selling goat's milk around here...

...this realization he had, caused him to casually accept the man's hospitality towards himself. But as soon as he took a sniff of the beverage...

...he knew at that moment that something was wrong indeed. Akeifa quickly turned his head towards Atemu but to his horror, the prince had finished the milk. _No way... the only person who should be making a move to hurt you should have been ME!!!_, thought Akeifa spitefully as he glared towards the other man. Hastily, he grabbed Atemu's hand and led him out towards the marketplace...

--

Atemu gasped as both of them walked quickly amongst the crowd of people. 'Wha-at? Why are we hurrying--? I thought you said you gonna help me find--'

'I want to get you back quicker!! There's something--' Atemu suddenly perked up as he exclaimed happily. 'Mahado!! Mana... Seto!!', he said as he ran towards their direction. Noticing them, Akeifa immediately took cover...

Mahado sighed in relief as he pulled away from the prince's embrace. 'Thank goodness!! Where have you been--?! If your father and mother found out--'

'I got lost!! But I got a friend who helped--', Atemu turned around to find that Akeifa was nowhere to be found. Mahado frowned at him as he glanced towards the other two kids. 'Never mind... let's go back. It's getting late... and I think we made Shimon angry long enough...'

'U-n!!', cried Atemu as he grabbed Seto's hand fondly, walking home together...

--

'It's done!! In no time the prince would be no more...'

Akeifa immediately took cover as he saw a shadow of the previous man talking towards somebody. Cautiously, he crept nearer towards the corner. To his surprise, he recognized the face of the other person the man was talking to..

'Are you sure you wouldn't be needing this?!', said the man huskily as the other gravely shook his head. The man sighed, '..haha, I thought you were doing this to get the pharaoh's good side. Aah... then this antidote was useless...' The man threw away the sachet... not noticing a smaller hand grabbing the thing away.

Akeifa hastily left as he quickly headed towards the palace...

_ Hmph... you're lucky, prince-sama... I was feeling generous. One day I'll prove to you that what you believed was wrong!! I'll show you the real fact about your so-called good kingdom..._, thought Akeifa as he recollected his brief chat with the young prince...

_ 'Hey prince... what do you think about the pharaoh..?' Atemu looked at him in confuse. 'Wha--? Father was kind... to me and to everyone... Father always taught me about justice and being a good king...', said Atemu innocently as Akeifa remained quiet..._

Akeifa spat as he remembered the incident. _Foolish kid... you never knew the real truth..._

_--_

'I'm tired...'

None of the two responded to his plea... Atemu looked around him to find Mana and Seto half asleep beside him. The young prince sighed. Slowly, Seto opened his eyes at him. 'If _you're _tired... imagine how we'd felt... we were frantically looking around for you!!', snapped the boy as Atemu spotted someone familiar... and dashed towards him.

'Hi!! Where've you been before? I was about to introduce you--' Akeifa immediately placed the satchel onto Atemu's hand. The young prince looked at him with apparent confusion. 'What's this for? Why--', Akeifa smiled weakly at the young prince, pitying him for being too innocent. 'You didn't feel any pain?!', said the white-haired boy in concern, '--poor you... you didn't realize but this will do you good. If you take this antidote... you will get better...', he said as he embraced the prince for a while...

Atemu was about to ask what did he mean but before he could, Seto called out towards him. 'Ojii... hey!! What are you doing--?!', exclaimed Seto as Akeifa hastily fled the scene. Atemu looked towards Seto in alarm as he tried vainly to call Akeifa back but to no avail.

'What did you do?! He was my new friend!!', cried the prince as Seto looked at him sternly. 'So why did he ran--?! You--'

'Here they are...' Atemu and Seto looked away to find Mahado coming... followed by the palace guards AND Shimon. Oh-uh... trouble!! Shimon immediately stormed towards Atemu as Mahado walked away to collect Mana...

'Ojii... what were you thinking!!? Thankfully I _finally_ managed to find Mahado amidst everything and got everything coming out of him!! You were almost lost!! What would Pharaoh and your mother feel if something happened to you?!!', scolded Shimon as Atemu tried to explain but couldn't get the words out. 'And you two--', said Shimon towards Seto and Mahado before Atemu suddenly stood in front of them, holding up his hands.

'No... Shimon!! If you want to punish them... punish me too!! _I_ was the one who made them do this!! You can't take them away from me--!! Please no---', cried the prince as Shimon looked at him with utter bewilderment. 'Ojii... I wasn't going to--'

It happened so sudden as neither Shimon, the guards nor Mahado could do anything. Prince Atemu suddenly collapsed in pain as blood gushed out of his mouth. In alarm, Shimon knelt before the prince as Atemu looked at his own blood on his hand blankly. 'Shimon... why... it hurts!!?', gasped Atemu as Shimon held him tightly. And then he noticed the white satchel on the prince's other hand. 'My prince... what is this?!', whispered Shimon frantically as the young prince shrugged. 'Aki said 't'll make me better... we were running from that nice uncle... why did--', Atemu spat some more blood as he passed out.

'He's delirious... we've got to get him back to the palace!! You there... fetch the healers quick!!', said Shimon while carrying the prince in his arms. One of the guards hastily walked away after receiving the order. Shimon looked towards Mahado and the others. '--Who was this 'Aki' he was talking about?!'

'Probably his new friend--', said Mahado and Seto altogether as Mahado continued, '--the prince told us that this boy was the one who helped him to find us...'

'--And he was here just now!!', Shimon and Mahado looked at Seto in shock. Seto grimaced a little. '--but... he ran away when I tried to call the prince. I was curious... that strange kid was talking to the prince like there was something troubling is happening, I don't know...'

'Well, it's best for us to head back to the palace now!! The prince's life might depend on it.. Come!!', ordered Shimon as the entire group rushed towards their destination...

--

'Be safe... my innocent little prince...', whispered Akeifa among the trees as he watched the group of people heading towards the palace. _And wait until the time when I revealed to you the harsh truth of that false lies you're living in..._

[TBC]

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az: And that's the last we'll be hearing about our little thief... until the time that we knew would happened. But then... 7-8 years is a long time, huh? The Akeifa we knew here... would not be the same one...

az: Hahaha.... how about this? And I think I HAVE to change the genre... from being light-hearted... it had turned into a dark story... so, stay tuned until the conclusion of... The Egyptian Star. And I bet u guys knew who _that_ is...


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